Felicjan Bylok

Sustainable Development of the European Union-Role of Sustainable Management in Creation of Future European Society

 Abstract—The European Unions entry on the pathway towards sustainable development is a response to global ecological and social threats resulting from mans economic activity. Their main cause is growing production and consumption of material goods, which is a consequence of demographic changes in the world, technological progress and growing standard of living. The Earths natural environment cannot withstand the excessive exploitation of resources and the effects of the growing pollution with harmful substances, which is proved by the values of the ecological footprint and living planet index. Global threats endanger the prospects of development of future generations. The European Union is taking concrete actions towards sustainable development to limit those unfavourable phenomena. One of the most important undertakings is the socio-economic programme adopted by the European Council in 2010, called Europe 2020 Strategy. These actions are not sufficient. It seems necessary to accelerate the transformation of consumer societies into sustainable societies based on sustainable consumption and sustainable production. A key role in the process is played by sustainable management, which should be implemented on four levels: the European Union, the Member States, organizations operating in those countries, households. The essence of sustainable management is a simultaneous orientation on achievement of economic, ecological and social objectives. Special role in its implementation is played by leaders: managers employed in mega- and micro-organizations and household leaders. Development of sustainable attitudes and behaviours of that group of people is the first and foremost condition of faster formation of sustainable European societies. Index Terms—Sustainable development, sustainable management, sustainable society.

Young consumers behavior in the market of electronic banking services

The paper presents theories regarding characteristics of consumer behavior of young customers on the basis of relevant literature and development of electronic banking in the world and in Poland. Aim of this article is to determine attitude of young consumers towards electronic banking based on a survey among group of selected students. This seems especially important because current young consumers are increasingly better educated and are able to determine their needs very precisely. They access information quickly which enable them to determine whether the offer meets their expectations – banking services are no exception. Results of studies may help both the bank management to formulate marketing strategies to promote virtual banking and scientists in the study of virtual banks and virtual organizations in general.

Management of a cluster as a network for cooperation between SMEs in Poland

The concept of clusters constitutes an opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their market position. Its essence is to stimulate the cooperation between these particular entities of economic life, accelerate the processes of innovation, etc.. This paper presents the theoretical bases underlying this concept of network organizations in the modern-day economy, while also examining the various approaches to defining a cluster and describing its models and types. Additionally, there is a detailed description of the problematic issues involved in the management of clusters. In the research section, the management of clusters of SMEs in Poland is analysed through (a) the models by which the clusters function, (b) the role of the coordinator in managing them and (c) their strategy for development. Finally, there is an illustration of the necessity for further research regarding the processes of management in clusters and how they can be improved.

Meandry konsumpcji we współczesnym społeczeństwie: konsumpcjonizm versus dekonsumpcja *

The characteristic discriminant of contemporary societies, particularly in economically developed countries, is, on the one hand, the expansion of consumerism in various spheres of economic and social life, while on the other hand, it is the attempt to restrict excessive consumption. The principal aim of this paper is the description of the chosen changes in consumption in contemporary society and their economic consequences. The author searches for answers to the following question: What orientations mark out the behaviour of consumers in the market? In the search for answers to this question, the orientation towards excessive consumption that is stimulated by the ideology of consumerism and deconsumption as a protest against consumerism have been placed under analysis. In analysing the ideology of consumerism, the main styles of consumerism have been indicated as follows: consumption of pleasures, compulsive consumption and symbolic consumption. In contrast to the behaviour associated with over-consumption, the behaviour in pursuit of the restriction of the consumption of goods indirectly connected with actual needs has been described, namely sustainable consumption and anti-consumption, as well as the voluntary simplicity movement in consumption.

Trust as an Element of Personnel Strategy in Enterprises in Poland

This article describes the significance of social trust in building the personnel strategy of an enterprise. Social trust has a very measureable pragmatic value. It is a factor which streamlines the functioning of the social system of an enterprise. The author presents various approaches to defining social trust in an organization, as well as briefly describing its structure. There is a subsequent concentration on the factors determining the growth of social trust in an enterprise. This paper also describes the issue of building trust as an element of personnel strategy. It indicates the necessity to choose the personnel strategy which includes elements of social trust as a factor determining the success of an enterprise. It also presents examples of research on the level of trust in organisations in Poland.